This weekend on a shoestring

• Get a dose of mystery and suspense as The Autumn Players, Asheville’s resident senior theater company, presents a double bill featuring the Sherlock Holmes thriller A Scandal in Bohemia and O. Henry’s The Ransom of Red Chief. Held at the Swannanoa Library, 101 W. Charleston St. 6:30-7:45 p.m. Free.

• “Zaq Suarez formed Big Hungry in the winter of 2010-2011 in Asheville, North Carolina after the break up of the band that moved him here, Open Windows,” begins the band’s bio. “Finding inspiration in the cold, he decided to make a move musically toward a more rhythm and harmony based form of indie rock. ‘I’ve found that most of my favorite songs are 1 to 3 minutes long … It’s harder to do than you may think, squeezing a whole idea into such a small amount of time, but the goal is to have the listener get to the end of the song and start it back,’ says Zaq. Although Big Hungry has a lot of members, they achieve a quiet sound.” Sample the band’s sweet melodies with a scoop of even sweeter ice cream when Big Hungry performs at The Hop (640 Merrimon Ave. #103, 254-2224). Free.

Friday, Sept. 30

• According to a release for “What Makes Images Powerful?” a discussion hosted by UNCA’s weekly lunchtime Q&A series Fab Fridays, “Dr. Alan Hantz, UNC Asheville professor of mass communications, presents advances in photographic technology and education have resulted in a flood of images of all sorts. Print and internet publications are increasingly visual, and consumer sites are overwhelmed with new images daily. Flickr, the online photo venue, houses millions of images submitted from all parts of the globe. Yet we remember only a few of these. This talk will examine why, among this deluge of images, some photos become memorable, even iconic in our culture.” Held UNCA’s Reuter Center. Lunch available for purchase in the Reuter Cafe; brown bags welcome. Free.

• “Colorful, bright, and spirited, Common Foundation is a young group of some really talented individuals,” states the band’s Facebook, while still managing to sound modest. “They play a blend of reggae, rocksteady and uptempo ska, all outfitted with a big band style horn section. They’ll move from soulful instrumentals with jazz influenced solos to sing-along melodies in three part harmony. Always enjoying their performance and always bringing a smile, Common Foundation is a new Asheville band worth checking out.” The nine-piece is currently at work on a new record, but in the mean time, catch its feel-good live show at Highland Brewing Company (12 Old Charlotte Highway #H, 299-3370). 6 p.m. Free.

Saturday, Oct. 1

• Celebrate Appalachian heritage with more than 50 traditional craftsmen, exhibitors and entertainers as The Cradle of Forestry hosts Forest Festival Day, featuring “hands-on heritage” including archery, log rolls, a pulpwood toss, a pole climb, axe throwing and more. Located on US Highway 276 in Pisgah National Forest. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $6/$3 children under 15.

• “We are Asheville’s source for all things pie!” exclaims Pies in Disguise‘s homepage. “We are dedicated to providing our customers with only the most delicious pies made from the freshest ingredients possible. We use as many local ingredients as we can get our hands on. You wanna know what we don’t put in our pies? Anything with partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup.” The local bakers celebrate the second anniversary of the business with a sweet party at Pisgah Brewing Company (150 Eastside Drive, Black Mountain, 669-0190). Local rockers Wooden Toothe provide the music. 7 p.m. Free.

• Who doesn’t sympathize with homeless and abandoned animals? And who doesn’t love The First Lady of Country? This weekend, The Grey Eagle (185 Clingman Ave., 232-5800) combines these completely unrelated truisms with a Loretta Lynn tribute show to benefit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, featuring performances by Nikki Talley, Holiday Childress, The Critters and more. All proceeds go directly to the organization. 8 p.m. $8 in advance.

• “It feels like New Years Eve, telling you about this show’s lineup,” begins an enthusiastic release on the Mo Daddy’s website. “I mean this is a show of shows: Jason Krekel’s One Man Band (Krektones, Mad Tea Party, The Screaming Jays) starts things off, followed by the raw blues-garage punk sound of Shake it Like a Caveman and by Asheville’s raucous Pleasure Chest. In the midst here, there will be a burlesque review with Paige Turner. This gal is amazing. She helped us celebrate NYE a few years back with David Earl & the Plowshares. This will be one great show!” 9 p.m. $7.

• “It wasn’t meant to be the name a saint has, but a quality – like, ‘oh, that guy has saint solitude,’” explains songwriter Dub Crosson‘s bio. ” … As the architect and sole songwriter of Saint Solitude, he will be the first to tell you that for every public musical endeavor there is an equal and opposite need to recharge and reflect. The multi-instrumentalist says he’s only musically introverted, but that character still inhabits his output. Saint Solitude has evolved from an early incarnation of sparse, wintry Thom Yorke-esque solo material to a high-volume loop act, and then to indie-pop power trio and beyond.” Join Crosson as he celebrates the release of Saint Solitude’s sophomore full-legnth at The LAB (39 North Lexington Avenue, 252-0212). Neapolitan Children open. 10 p.m. $5.

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Don’t forget to checkout the Gnomebirds album release show at Emerald Lounge on Thursday September 29 at 10pm -Featuring Deva & Chach with members of Mystery Cult and Dub Kartel. HOT!
Listen to the album here:http://soundcloud.com/gnomebirds